Pages

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Chapter Twenty-Five

-->

**Will be posting some stuff under "Editor's Notes" If you've had trouble navigating, forgive me. I'll be updating the "contents" soon.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Thanks to her habit
of allowing receipts to pile up, she'd been digging in her purse all the way
through the parking lot to the ER entrance. Wrestling between her wallet and
several personal items, she'd spiked her fingertips on brush bristles just
before she'd found a wadded up dollar bill in the far reaches of the deep, brown
bag.

But those
pills...those pills had to be in there somewhere.

Once she and Kelly
stepped from the cold night air into the ER, Grace's shivers continued along
with what felt like a fever.The
thermometer at home had read a normal temperature, so go figure.

Out of her left
pocket came a tissue.

Something rattled in
her right pocket. So that's where she'd stashed the medication.Just as she reached for it, she
stammered.A man wearing a leg cast, and many others had turned to watch the new arrivals.

No one there intended
to hurt her.No one there intended to
hurt Kelly.Most people are innocent bystanders.

But still.She'd have felt ten times safer at the bakery,
where she knew the security systems and the patrons who frequented that
place.Her employees understood her
issues and generally took care of customers while she and Susan busied
themselves with the sugary goodies that Dan despised.

Grace blew her nose for
the hundredth time that week, wincing from the soreness and wishing the
pounding in her temples would finally relent.But no.Like the old Energizer
Bunny, it kept on going, and she longed for the feel of her silky sheets, the
fluffiness of her pillow and a sleep deep enough to cure all of her woes.

God would handle
that, she reminded her self.He always
pulled her through the sludge and He would continue to do so.Only her faith kept her sane.

She tossed the tissue
toward a nearby waste can.The little
white puff landed at the foot of the check-in counter and the ER doors slid open.Battling the icy wind's assault on her long
hair, she walked toward the tissue, then squatted with her legs together to
snatch and toss it into the can.She
never bent over in public.She'd rather
look silly than to place lascivious thoughts in men's minds as they stared at
her behind.

Avoiding the crazy
gazes from other visitors, she pumped some sanitizer from the front desk into
her palm.

The lady behind the
waist-high counter smiled wryly and Grace imagined a swarm of insults flying
around in the snooty woman's head.

Maybe she wasn't
snooty.Maybe you just read too much into peoples' expressions.

She turned toward the
television opposite them, the twirling coat tie in her periphery forcing her to
clamp her hand around her sister's wrist.

Kelly started as a
golden red curl escaped from the band shoved onto the back of her head.No doubt the younger girl could feel Grace's
racing pulse.

"What?"
Kelly glanced around the room, turned back to Grace, and then searched the area
again.Grace guessed Dan's possible
appearance topped her sister's thoughts.

Leaning over, Grace
swallowed and forced her words out as evenly and lowly as she could muster.
"You're nervous." She pulled a prescription bottle from her coat
pocket and began struggling with the child safety cap.

"I'm nervous?Look at you, you're a mess," Kelly
countered.

Never mind what's wrong with me.

This stubborn cap,
she thought.The thing seemed to always
get stuck and this time the entire bottle popped out of her hands and rolled
toward a fake palm tree.

Grace groaned and
lunged forward to retrieve her drugs, careful not to allow her rear to stick up
in the air.

The hacking and
coughing from different corners of the room would put anyone on edge, but that
was just a small glitch in Grace's world.And Kelly's.

Grace began working
the cap again, recalling how Kelly had fiddled with her silverware, stirring
her straw repeatedly the last time they'd shared dinner with Dan.Had Dan not tattled about Kelly's flirtatious
side, Grace probably wouldn't have noticed.But, wanting to curtail Kelly's infatuation with a teacher, Grace had
kept her sensors high for the past month or so.

It never escaped her
that Kelly blushed with just the mention of Dan Shields' name, and Grace would
never forget the night she'd told Little Sister the 'big secret.'That Grace had been dating her English
teacher.Given the pale complexion the
McBrides' Irish heritage had lent them, Grace had been fascinated to find Kelly
almost as white as vanilla buttercream frosting.

After swallowing a
small, green pill without any water and coughing into her elbow, Grace
continued shakily, "You know what I told you before."

The prescription
bottle made it back to her coat pocket and she couldn't wait for the relaxed
feeling that would overtake her like a nice, warm blanket in her head.

They both shuddered
when the ER doors whizzed open again.Once they'd closed, Grace began pulling her hair into a quick, makeshift
braid.She hadn't time to fix her makeup
and she imagined she looked as pasty as a ghost, if such things truly roamed
the earth.

Shrugging, she refocused
on Kelly.Despite the girl's sudden
interest in the floor tiles, Grace added, "Your teacher is off
limits."

"Like I'd come onto him...especially here and now."

Maybe not here and
now but perhaps later.No way, little
sister.No way.

Besides...Grace shifted
from one, throbbing foot to the other... Dan was...her man, she guessed?Even
though she still hadn't allowed him a kiss and even though they still disagreed
over Grace's profession.The only things
holding them together were physical attraction, concern for Kelly, and God.

God was enough.He always was.

Grace cupped her hand
under the elbow of Kelly's thin, black coat and led her toward a couple of
empty leather chairs.

Sitting down, she
resisted the temptation to burry her face in her hands and instead took deep
breaths...in.......counting five, four three, two, one...out.Ever so slowly. And again.

Hopefully she'd soon
be calm enough to join her boyfriend- wherever he was.

He'd called her over
two hours ago, interrupting the creation of a beautiful confectionary rose.With her cell phone in one hand and the rose
perched at nose level atop the flower nail, she'd felt the distinct sinking of
her soul when she'd heard the tremble in his voice.Allison had landed herself in the hospital
again.

As she'd listened to
his choppy explanation, she'd imagined the pink rose petals wilting before her
eyes.Turning brown and curling up, dropping
to the cold kitchen floor one by one.She'd wound up shoving the whole thing into her mouth.It had dissolved bitterly in her stomach,
like the little scroll eaten by John in the Book of Revelation.

Poor Dan.Having practically raised Kelly on her own,
she understood his care for his baby sister.

Her parents had worked
long, hard hours to establish Carla's Cakery (named after their first daughter-
Carla Grace McBride), a business venture Grace had inherited about a year
before the accident.So not only had
Grace babysat Kelly during the dreary evenings in a not-so-wonderful
neighborhood, she'd taken full custody of the nine-year-old girl not long after
her 21st birthday.Coincidentally, she'd
just moved into her own apartment- right above the bakery.

"I hope his
sister's OK." Kelly's long, red nails resembled claws as she picked at
them. "I mean...if she's really bad off, he probably won't be back to
school for a while, either."

"Not the most
important issue here, but you're right.He probably won't."

Pulling the
already-zipped leather coat Dan had purchased more tightly around her, Grace
cowered under the wandering gaze of a husky man in a flannel shirt.He passed them and she blew out her breath.

"Oh, no.What is she
doing here?"Kelly's nails were
now digging into the arm rests.Grace
followed her scowl.

About twenty feet diagonal
from them, Rebekah and Ryan stood outside some double doors, her with her hands
on her hips and him with his thick brows curled as he pointed a long finger at
his girlfriend.Rebekah was shaking her
head and the only audible word from Ryan sounded like, "Please!"

Rebekah shook her head again.

Grace's stomach was beginning to boil, but thank God the beginning effects of
the clonazepam were setting in.The
green pill remained the only anti-anxiety medication that reinstated feelings
she hadn't enjoyed in over 18 years. Happy and relaxed, like a little girl with
no responsibilities.Only this
medication would enable her to comfort Dan after the many times he'd comforted
her.

Apparently he excelled at
comforting girls.Allison had given him
great practice.Not only had he reached
out to Grace, but -carefully - to Kelly and to Rebekah Rose.

Grace nudged Kelly.
"Don't be so hostile.Rebekah's more
like you than you realize."

She recalled Dan hinting at
Kelly's fear of Rebekah.Well, Grace
thought, at least someone in this world intimidated the brat.Though not always justified, fear could be a
great motivator. It kept people out of trouble.

"But why is she...."Kelly motioned toward the brunette couple.
"...Who is that guy?"

Grace nibbled her lip.She hadn't yet shared any news about Rebekah
and Ryan.The less Kelly knew, the
better.

Grace slumped in her seat, wondering
if she should cut Kelly's cell phone or pack her bags and throw her out.

What a laugh.She'd never have the
courage to kick Kelly out.In fact, she
lacked the backbone to seriously discipline the girl.Why?Because when it came down to it, Kelly was right, but she hadn't pulled
the"you're my big sister, not my
mom," card in a long time.

What could Grace do now,
anyway?The summer had brought Kelly's
eighteenth birthday, so technically the young woman could do whatever she
pleased.

Grace had heard the
explanations before and waved her off."Not here.And not now.Dan's coming."

Kelly gripped the chair arms and peered to her right as Dan marched toward the
arguing, young couple with his jaw set. He spoke louder than Ryan, his orders
clear for anyone paying the slightest attention.

"Ryan, I want you take
Rebekah to her mother and get your ass back here."

Rebekah folded her arms but
her shoulders sagged as she turned slightly toward the wall.

"Forget it," Ryan
argued. "She's staying with
me."

Dan cursed- a rarity from
what Grace had seen."She's safer
at the bowling alley, far away from Dad."

"Yeah?Is Grace safer too?"

Dan froze.

Because Ryan towered about
six inches above Dan's head, he easily granted Grace the first eye contact of
the night as he nodded.

"Grace!"Dan shuffled toward her with his fingers stuck
to his forehead. His tie had been removed, two of his top buttons undone, and
the front of his shirt remained tucked in while the tail flapped out behind
him.

Grace caught Kelly's sappy stare a second before Dan knelt down and squeezed
Grace's hands between his.Perspiration
glazed his countenance and she wondered just what in the world she was going to
say.The pill buzz had begun.Usually she conversed more easily under its
full influence but Dan needed encouragement now.

"Dan....?" His shiny,
brown waves needed straightening and the agony she sensed in him was completely
foreign from the man she knew.How could
she begin to ease his pain?

He'd managed to ease hers with
just a simple touch of his hand on more than one occasion.

They'd nearly kissed
once.Sitting at her piano, he'd begun
running his finger up and down her forearm.He'd been so kind and gentle, trying to teach her to the tune to Blessings, by Laura Story.The song was beautiful, speaking of God's use
of trials to bless His people in unexpected ways.So not only had the song softened her, but
the fact that a man had learned to play it so perfectly...and not just any man
but Dan Shields...well, she could swear in that short span of time that she'd
finally found the man she'd been searching for.

And calm as he'd appeared,
she'd noticed the intermittent twitching of his leg, had sensed an uptick in
his pulse, felt him weighing more heavily against her side.

The heat had become unbearable.She'd wondered many times what it would be
like to kiss him, but rarely had she allowed herself to travel far through the
fantasy department. Not only would fantasizing insult her Lord and Savior, but thoughts
lead to actions and there were certain actions she chose not to take.No matter how tempting they might have been.

But that day at the piano,
she'd been weak.As soon as she'd dared
to lock onto his warm eyes, a spark had passed between them and he'd leaned in
for the first touch of their lips.

She'd come so close to
kissing him. So close that his breath had rushed into hers.

And then it had happened.
Just a glimpse of his black pullover had triggered the flashbacks.

The white collar framed by
the black shirt. Strong hands cutting the circulation from her wrists, her
cries for help stuck in her throat despite her desperate attempts to push them
out.

The room seemed to spin
upside down just as it had the night of the attack.Just like that night eighteen years ago, so
clearly she'd remembered it.The coffee
table had disappeared into a blur of gray until the textured ceiling had swam into
view and her backside bounced against the large, fuzzy couch.Even the scent of apple pies baking in the
oven had lingered in her senses.

To this day she hated that smell.

With those images seeming so
fresh, she'd run from Dan's arms, literally run straight to her window as
though she'd intended to throw herself from it.She'd never forget the hammering of her heart or the way her legs had wobbled
during her flight.

Vaguely, she recalled
hearing exasperation in Dan's tone.

"Grace, not again.When will you ever trust me?"

Didn't he understand that it
had nothing to do with trusting him?Not
anymore.She just couldn't...she just
couldn't...

The tears had trickled over
her fingers, some of them seeping through her pursed lips; but it hadn't taken
long for Dan to join her, to say what she'd thought she'd never hear.

"Grace."Dan snapped her back to the present, where
she once again read agony in his expression and his voice."I didn't...I wasn't..."

"What's going on?"
She stopped herself from pulling him into her arms. The last thing Dan needed
was to catch her cold, but it might have been too late for precautions. She
attempted to tug her hands free, but he only squeezed them tighter.

"Dan, I...I don't know
what to do." She glanced down at their entwined fingers."I'm - I'm sick."

He looked slightly taken
aback, so she hurried, "No, I mean.I don't want you to catch my cold, but is...is there something else
going on here?Was it wrong to come
here?"

"No."He released her to smooth his thumb along her
jawline.His gaze narrowed as she
reached inside her coat pocket for a tissue. "No, but my father is
here and believe me, this is no place to be right now."

"Your father?" She
frowned and wiped her nose. She knew Oliver Shields was a control freak but
she'd no clue what exactly she needed to fear.Thank God she probably wouldn't be ruminating about that one until the
pill wore off.

"He's not going to stop
this time, I'm afraid."

"Stop what, Dan?"

"Stop trying to get us
home.Allie home.He'll pull almost any string he needs
to."

"What does that
mean?"

Dan turned his attention to
Kelly but Grace couldn't make out his expression.

"Mr. Shields,"
Kelly said. "Do you want me to leave?"

"No, no, not alone."Dan promptly shook his head. "I just didn't want any of you mixed up
in this."

"Any of us?You mean me, Kelly and-"

"Rebekah.This whole thing is crazy, I never should
have let those two date."

Grace bit her tongue. He
probably regretted dating her, as well.

OOOO

Bekah couldn't believe
it.Dan had melted at Grace's feet like
a peep in the microwave, slow and sloppy.Down on his knees before her, he seemed far too comfortable with Grace's
long claws in his hair.

How could he?Why would he want Kelly's sister?And speaking of Kelly, the green eyed witch
was looking rather smug about her sister's relationship with Teacher.

If only she could slug that
brat like she'd slugged Brian.

She spun on her heel and
found herself staring at the red t-shirt peering through Ryan's unzipped
jacket.Behind her sat her teacher and
before her, the guy she'd been dating.One of them she wanted to grab by the collar and shake the living
daylights out of and the other...

She imagined Ryan wasn't too
happy and kept her focus on his slightly heaving chest- a warm, strong place to
rest her head while his heart beat next to her ear.How many times had they sat like that?He'd always caress her somehow, somewhere-
her arms, her back, her legs, her hair. His kisses raining on her head and sometimes
trailing down her neck.

His embraces had become
rather insistent lately and she guessed he was expecting more than what she'd
been giving, but he'd just have to keep his pants on.Quite literally.

Aside from that, he'd been
kind, forgiving, reaching out to her like he never wanted to let her go.

Even tonight, he'd told her
he didn't want to lose her but that she needed to "quit it."

She swallowed hard and wished this whole nightmare away. She'd hurt him.Right when he needed her more than ever, her
heart had once again strayed to her teacher and she deserved his scolding.In fact, she wouldn't blame him if he dumped
her here and now.

He grasped her so forcefully
that she gasped and blinked up at blazing eyes.

"Come on," he ordered. "Outside."

"What?Don't talk to me like that." Shrugging
only caused him to tighten his grip. "What the hell, Ryan?Are you drunk or some-"

He tugged her toward a corridor that lead to a back entrance.Her heels clipped, clopped and added blisters
to her feet the whole way, but her voice seemed to have flown to la-la land.

Outside, he guided her to his
car as she gritted her teeth against the cold wind.It didn't take long to reach their
destination, and when he'd practically flung her into the passenger seat, she
wondered what the hell had slapped her upside the head and stolen her backbone.

Ryan had never acted like
this before!

The driver's side opened as
she pushed her hair out of her face and their heavy breathing mingled with the
sound of jingling keys.He reached
behind the front seats and tossed a jacket at her, one she gladly accepted, though
it wouldn't work well enough for long enough.

He turned the key in the
ignition and began blasting the heater.Thank God some warm air from their earlier drive began spewing out at
them.Small favors go a long way,
especially when she felt like this.

Ryan turned to her, but the
parking lot lights allowed her to see only his faint frown.Nothing but that frown.

"Ry-"

"You’ve got to quit
it.I saw how you were just looking at
him and I'm sure everyone else did, too.Except my stupid brother, of course.In case you didn't notice, he seemed totally engrossed in Grace."

Bekah wasn't sure if she
should barf on him or slap him.Her
teeth clenched so tightly together than her jaws began to throb,
and when Ryan stretched his legs so that his feet touched hers, she fought the
urge to kick them away.He didn't
deserve that, even if he'd left a bruise on her arm from the way he'd grabbed
her a few moments before.

Ryan never acted like
this.No, he was just upset.His father had blown into town with a former rock
star in hopes of gaining affection, Allie had nearly died, his girlfriend...
ugh, his girlfriend was a freaking, idiotic jerk.Could she really blame him for being pissed?

Out of the corner of her eye,
she could see him shaking his head.Leaning his back against his door, his wavering voice a stark contrast
from the anger he'd shown, he said, "We've got enough to worry about with
my dad."He pulled a bottle from
beneath the seat and pointed the tip in her direction."Things are heating up, Bekah, and I
need to know you're on my side."

She pursed her lips, unsure
exactly what he meant.Was he referring
to her obvious display of affection for Dan, or to Oliver and his stunts?What, who, when?

She shook her head and buried
her face against her hands.

"Look, Bekah."He began pushing her hair from the front of
her shoulder to the back, speaking close to her ear. So close that she could
smell the beer but still quivered inside from his touch.She always did.Maybe Dan kept drawing her, but Ryan did
too.Ryan was amazing in his own rite.

Suddenly everything behind
them seemed to be covered in Stephen King's Mist.A fog so thick that nothing could
penetrate it.Nothing but the things
that could crush her to a pulp.

"Listen to me now,"
he added."Are you listening?"

Her reply sounded muffled."Yes."

She sniffed.

"There are ways to deal
with this sort of thing."

What sort of thing?

"All of this, I
mean.You.Me.My
dad."

Bekah lowered her hands.Ryan took a swig of beer and set the bottle
in a cup holder before gripping both of her shoulders.Massaging them, he pressed his nose against
hers and their breaths collided.

"When Allie stabilizes,
we can do something.We've got to do
something, you know?"

"What do you mean?"
She gulped.Ryan had begun caressing her
back and her entire body became engulfed in hot shivers.

Here she was, just after
bemoaning Teacher and Grace...

And now?

If any other guy had treated
her as Ryan just had, they'd wind up like Brian, with a broken nose.

But Ryan, despite seeing her feelings for Dan, still wanted her.

After her father had fled and
everyone else kept pushing her away, Ryan sill wanted her.

How could she be angry?

Ryan granted her a soft kiss
before tipping her chin to force eye contact."We've got to talk.Serious
stuff."

She knew they needed to
talk.But what good would it really
do?Couldn't they just shut up and exist?Try harder, do better, all that goody-goody
stuff that happy endings are made of?

How could she be happy, when
one of the men her mind refused to release was...staring through the window,
over Ryan's shoulder.His arms folded,
he seemed oblivious to the wind flapping his shirt sleeves and scattering his
hair.

Bekah's breath caught and
Ryan must have sensed a change in her, because he pulled back.
"What?" he asked.

Bekah nodded.Ryan turned, stared for a
moment and then pressed the button to lower the window,

"What do you want?"
Ryan demanded."You ordered us to leave, so why did you
follow us?"

"One reason," Dan
barked, leaning inside the car.Though
Bekah couldn't see his expression, his fists clawing around the downed window
spoke volumes. "Since when do you
handle a girl the way you just did, Ryan?Where the hell do you get off, dragging one my students like that?"

No comments:

Post a Comment

I know what I'm doing.

Smelling roses or playing with fire, closing my eyes in the midst of desire. Thorns may spike me or I may burn; but that doesn't change how much I yearn. (Photo from Stuart Miles/freedigitalphotos.net)

Snippets

“Calm down, things aren’t as bad as they seem.” Say that to yourself a hundred times over.

“They’re not? Because it seems pretty bad to me.” He pointed at the ceiling. “My sister’s up there in a coma and my dad won’t stop scheming.”

“He just wants me to help, that’s all.”

“And what did he offer in return for your help?”

“You think I’d take anything he offered just to help?” She snatched the business card back and slouched in her seat. “I wouldn’t, Dan,” she whispered and swallowed the lump in her throat. What was she supposed to say now?

“How does he want you to help?”

She shrugged. “I guess you’ll have to find out.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me, Teacher. I don’t think I need to tell you everything because you’ll find out soon enough.”

Great Books from Amazon!

Search This Blog

Followers

About Me

Not only do I love to write, but I am a stay-at-home mother of three- well, an eight-year-old, a six-year-old and one due on Sept. 1.
I am a believer in Jesus Christ, and my stories will reflect that, but hopefully without being overly preachy. Please enjoy reading. :)